Space vehicles such as satellites or resident space objects (RSO) typically utilize actuators such as thrusters and/or momentum devices to maintain an orbit around a celestial body. Typically, a satellite or an RSO orbiting the Earth employs deployable solar panels to power onboard electronics. The onboard electronics provide critical functionalities such as determining a position of a target of interest, determining a position of the satellite, etc. The onboard electronics control an ability of the satellite to simultaneously point to the target of interest while keeping the solar panels pointed toward a power source such as the Sun.
Typical satellites maintain an orbit around a celestial body by controlling thrusters and/or momentum devices using commands generated using attitude steering laws. Typically, attitude steering laws involve calculating two vectors to describe a full rotation representation for an orbit. As a satellite pursues an orbit, the two vectors may change with respect to each other, bringing the two vectors closer together in some instances, and pushing the two vectors farther apart in other instances. As the two vectors change with respect to each other, the attitude steering laws may generate commands that produce undesirable satellite behavior due to practical limitations of the satellite and various considerations that influence calculations of the two vectors.